Eous sighed and looked at the setting sun with a frown. If it wasn't for the sheer amount of Ether that Hollow Zero emanated, he would've died from those injuries.

Using Ionize anywhere else would've taken him out of commission, too, so there was clear benefits to being in Hollow Zero.

Fairy was silent as she processed all the data she gathered from the excursion, and Wise and Belle were muted ordering a pizza for them to celebrate over the Hollow Zero License Eous acquired.

Eous rolled his neck until feeling a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw HSO Section Six were standing behind him with Yanagi holding out his license.

"Here you are." Yanagi gave a thin smile for his service.

Eous eyed them all slowly, feeling a plethora of mixed emotions from their expressions.

"Thank you for all your hard work today." Yanagi added.

"I've gotta say, we aren't exactly sure how you do it, but you're far more effective at route planning and adapting to mutations than any HSO Bangboo." Harumasa praised.

"Hey, how would the HSO Bangboo feel if it heard you?" Soukaku pouted in the Bangboos stead.

"What is your name?" Miyabi asked bluntly.

"This is Hollow Proxy Nova. He is the one recorded to have destroyed the Dead End Hollow's Dead End Butcher and shrink its capacity significantly." Yanagi informed.

"Nova..." Miyabi held her chin in thought. She suddenly looked up with a competitive leer. "Next time, I won't hold anything back."

Eous looked down at the hand outstretched to him in confusion. To threaten him and then extend gratitude was a mix up even he couldn't expect.

"Uh, me too...?" He replied with a nervous smile, lightly shaking her hand in response.

Her mood seemed to drastically increase at the mutual agreement to grow stronger together. Or at least, that's how she interpreted it.

"Woah. Someone who understands the chief? We might've stumbled upon a rare find." Harumasa smirked and nudged Eous.

"Well, duty calls. We need to go back and report our findings. We'll put in a good word, so hopefully you'll fall under our command once more." Yanagi smiled and gave a small bow.

"See you, Bangboo buddy!" Soukaku waved enthusiastically before following after her colleagues.

Eous scratched his cheek before seeing Ray waving him over.

"You exceeded expectations time and time again there, kid. If it wasn't for company policy, you would've been given a tier 2 license immediately for your contribution." She whispered.

"What does a tier 2 license do?" Eous asked.

"Well, higher access to Hollow Zero for starters. Your current license only allows you to explore the edge, where there's far more defense posts and security zones. Aside from that? Company accommodations."

"Accommodations?"

"The break rooms."

"Damn~. That's a clean incentive..." Eous hummed thinking about what kinda of snacks and refreshments they'd have to have to hide it behind the second license.

"You'll need this to conduct actual research." Ray handed him a flash drive. "You'll use this to understand Hollow Zero. It doubles as a journal and archive, so any and all new information you come across will be credited to you for bonus revenue."

"Woah. You guys giving all this out to civilians for real?" Eous wondered.

Ray smirked and leaned towards him. "Nope. Personal gift." She whispered softly.

Eous shivered and nodded gratefully.

"Run along now. I'm sure you've got places to be, Nova." She gestured him to the parking lot, unaware that he needed to catch a train.

Patting his back a few more times than he liked, she finally returned to the tent to resume her work before feeling something in his jacket pocket.

A business card with her information. He thanked a higher power that she wasn't actually hitting on him.

He hoped.

~•~

"Great job, Eous!" Belle swooped up Eous in her arms and spun him around with glee.

He was so tired and every second she withheld him from the mouth-watering pizza sitting in the coffee table in Wise's room, he died inside.

"A legal license into Hollow Zero, a legal database of all their finds, and our own means of recording data too. All in the span of a day. You really helped us out today, Eous." Wise ruffled his hair and smiled.

As if responding to his will and hunger, a slice of pizza was suddenly held over Eous' head as he looked up.

He took a bite and moaned in delight before lowering it again to take another bite.

"Eous..." Belle sounded mortified.

"Mphat's upf?" He asked in between bites.

"How... are you doing that...?!" Wise was beginning to freak out to seeing as Eous' arms were constricted by Belle's.

Eous was confused until he looked up again and saw a slender white appendage was grasping the crust of the pizza. An identical one appeared at its side and waved at him energetically.

The three suddenly screamed and staggered away but the ligaments followed Eous. He scrambled around in horror, trying to escape the appendages but this allowed Belle and Wise to spot that they were connected to his body.

"F-Fairy! What's going on with Eous?! What is that?!" Wise asked in concern.

"The DNA from the Ninevah Ethereal has assimilated to his body, allowing for adaptation of its data into his corporal form." The two still looked mortified, so Fairy suddenly appeared and grabbed the two ligaments.

Eous yelped, throwing out his hands in time to catch the pizza. "In other words, he now has two tails."

Eous moaned again as he finished the rest of the pizza in one bite. He subconsciously used his tails, which suddenly morphed into claws, to pick up two more slices.

"I hope you guys have more boxes, cause after today this box might just be mine." Eous wasn't scared anymore, fully embracing the new appendages and using them to the best of his ability.

To eat...

"Never a dull moment..." Belle weakly muttered, snatching a slice of pizza from Eous' tail.

"Hey! Get the next box! I fought a damn Kaiju today, I earned this!" Eous began chasing Belle around the room while simultaneously eating the other slice.

Wise shook his head before realizing they were in his room. "H-Hey, wait! Don't make a mess in here!"

~•~

Nicole's eyes were glued to the glistening sweat that rolled down his face. Her hands twitched in anticipation as he went up and down, his body tense in strain.

It didn't help that his soft grunts gave her goosebumps.

"Can I touch?" She asked.

"Huh?" Eous stopped his upside down crunches, hanging from the monkey bars in confusion.

Nicole held her head in annoyance at his density. "Your abs. Can I touch them or not?!" She whisper-shouted.

"Oh, yeah. Sure." He laughed and continued to hang with ease.

Nicole threw away all shame and embarrassment when she began to caress his body in broad daylight. Well, there was a rather small opening to the playground, so not necessarily broad daylight.

"God, I could do this all day." Nicole bit her lip, causing Eous to blush and chuckle.

"Well, I've got like 15 more to do, so come on..." Nicole ignored him, slowly leaning in to further indulge herself. She slowly went lower, squeezing his pectoral with a goofy grin.

Suddenly, Miyabi hummed in thought seeing the shameless act ensue.

Nicole screamed and scrambled over to the swing set hearing her sudden appearance. Eous looked up and saw her too, but immediately had to drop from the monkey bars as to not look up her dress.

Landing on his neck, he groaned before rolling over and eyeing her in confusion.

"You." Miyabi's eye was trained on him the entire time. Guess she didn't deem Nicole's lust noteworthy. "You are the Proxy Nova, correct?"

'Gotta play dumb.' | "What's a proxy?" | 'Not that dumb!'

"D-Do you know this woman?" Nicole shuffled back over, her hands gripping her briefcase in caution.

"H-Hey, Miyabi." Eous sighed seeing as there wasn't really any way to refute the claim.

"I've found you." Her mood brightened at the accurate exclamation.

Eous rubbed his nape. "Yeah, uh, how exactly? I didn't change out of uniform until I got in the vent..."

"Your presence is one of a kind. Very unique. Strong fire unlike any other." Miyabi tried to explain.

Nicole and Eous shared a glance before shrugging. "Guess that's a compliment. You aren't gonna... tell anyone, right?"

"It isn't my place to disclose. I merely wished to see if you were real." Miyabi smiled at him.

"Well, I'm in the flesh... I guess..."

Miyabi paced over and handed him a card. With a nod, she placed it in his hand before he could read it. "Let's grow strong. Together."

And with that, she left.

Nicole began to eye Eous skeptically as he read the card, seeing as it wasn't a business one like Ray's. It was simply a flash card with her name and number.

"Well, look at you. Friends in high places, huh?" She questioned with sass.

"Don't be like that. We got a Hollow Zero Research and Database License the other day. In the middle of the assessment the HSO recruited me into an emergency mission." Eous explained, earning a hum. "You know, I'm just that good."

Nicole nudged him with her shoulder and ruffled his hair. "Yeah, yeah, pretty boy. Speaking of friends in high places, your job's not over yet it seems."

"What do you mean? Is this Vision case going south?" He wondered.

"Well, other than my back aching from how much paperwork I've gotta handle? Nope. However, their rival is interested in hiring you for a gig. I've shot your siblings the details."

Eous held his chin in thought. "Belobog Industries? What do they want with us?"

"No clue, but hey, just know I gave the referral, babe. So, treat me some time, will you?" Nicole playfully pulled his cheek with a smirk.

"You could always just ask to go out sometime, you know. Don't have to hide it behind business." Eous smirked back before using a tail to pull her cheek.

"Wha-What?! D-Don't get the wrong idea! And what is that thing?!" Nicole staggered back and watched the tail lose its claw, swaying around as Eous began to laugh.

"Little evolution side effect. Cool, huh?"

"Are you like... a Thiren now? What kind of tail—" the second one emerged. "—tails are those? It was super soft but firm..."

"I don't know. Guess they're just... mine?" He moved them over for her to touch. She was quick to pet one, finding the sensation far more amicable than she assumed.

It felt like the softest pillow she could imagine, but held a firmness that implied muscle and strength.

"Neat. Anby will love these! Maybe not Nekomata, though..." Nicole shook her head at the potential increased in rivalry.

"Partner, Belle is calling. She is either nagging about her excessive play time on League of Champions, or asking about Nicole's referred commission." Fairy announced.

"Sounds like that's my cue to head on over. You wanna swing by?" Eous asked.

"Sure, I can grace you with more of my presence. Lead the way!" Nicole pat his shoulders and ushered him out of the playground.